Ontario Fires Back Against Woman in Ad (Canadian Health Care)

The Globe and Mail ^ | July 29, 2009 | Canadian Press

[Jess Kitting]

The Ontario government has filed a defence against a claim made by a Hamilton woman who's at the centre of the U.S. debate over health care.

Shona Holmes is featured in a TV campaign in which she claims she had to mortgage her home and travel to a U.S. clinic for brain surgery in 2005, due to a six-month wait for care in Canada. The ad, which began airing about two weeks ago in all 50 states, warns Americans to reject Canadian-style health care because it failed her. In the ad, Ms. Holmes states that if she relied on her government, she'd be dead.

[Jess Kitting]

This has stirred up quite a controversy in Canada. Ms. Holmes had to wait six months for brain surgery and eventually came to the U.S. for treatment. See her story on video at the source.

The article provides some interesting insights.

[bankcritic]

Yes it does raise some interesting points, most importantly a Canadian style health system wouldn’t work for the states. It works for Canada, but there are a lot of people with cases just like hers in Canada, not saying the system is invalid because of it, just saying that some people get the short end sometimes.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

The article provides some interesting insights.

not the least of which is that the “Ontario govt” is now assisting omomma and the lefties by throwing their own hat into the ring.......

[Psycho_Bunny]

Have you ever met a Canadian who lived in the US and had anything good to say about the Canadian health care system? I haven’t.

[AnAmericanMother]

While Mr. Ouellet, president of the Canadian Medical Association, admits the country's system has its flaws, including excessive wait times for some medical services, he denies the accusation that it puts lives at risk. “To say that the system is a complete failure is not fair. When people go to the hospital they get good quality medical care. ... People are not dying on the street,” said Mr. Ouellet, who practices medicine in Quebec.

To say that a system doesn't put lives at risk because 'people are not dying on the street'!?!?!?!?!

Of course they aren't, they die in the hospital or at home because treatment was delayed, instead of surviving.

He betrays his knowledge of the flawed system by his weaseling defense.

[Clock King]

People in the province get access based on their needs, he says, not on their ability to pay.

"From each according...." You know the rest.

Interesting that they disabled the comments after a few people calling her an ingrate. Shows the true liberal/leftist mind. And no mention of the Canadian MP who pushed this stuff coming to the US for HER cancer treatment. Some animals are more equal.

[Lorianne]

This whole thing is odd because nobody is proposing a Canadian style health insurnace system in the US.

[kaboom]

The Canadian system of health care does work but only because the US system offers an option for special treatment without waiting. If the US adopts a system similar to Canada’s, then it would be likely that patients would experience waiting lists on both sides of the border.

[JohnD9207]

Interesting comments before the Socialists in Canada shut down free speech comments:

From the comments:

As I understand it (though I admit I have no first-hand knowledge), Ms. Holmes’ “tumour” was non-fatal.

---

It was postively NOT a tumour. It was a cyst, and she admitted as much. This hole sordid tale is about the power of the dollar bill and unwholesome U.S. lobbying. Nothing new to see here.

____________________________________________________________

WOW it wasn’t a tumor it was a cyst? (Did Obama get his medical degree from these idiots?)

Any Tumor, Cyst, Growth, either Benign, or Cancerous inside the brain causes pressure! It matters not...in a closed space (the brain and dura) pressure is a very bad thing.
I pray daily that these socialist/marxists are stopped before its your brain tumor/cyst they are puting on the blue pill red pill express. IDIOTS!!!

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

“...then it would be likely that patients would experience waiting lists on both sides of the border.”

if they manage to jam this upon us, that would also apply to the US-messico “border”

[max americana]

>Have you ever met a Canadian who lived in the US and had anything good to say about the Canadian health care system? I haven’t.<

Me neither..(cough) (Of course, what should I know. I recently moved to America to escape the socialist govt of British Columbia, canada where they put a gun to your head if you dont pay your monthly premiums while you suffer in misery while on the waiting list)

[bankcritic]

Canadian's are horribly overtaxed and you can make so much more money in the US than you can in Canada, even in a Recession. They love the health care here because there are so many more options that don't cost nearly as much. The Canadian system is single payer and you dont have a choice to offer to pay a little out of pocket to bring down the cost.

Canadian's realize that their system isn't the best and don't want to get into the health care debate here, this woman who is no doubt getting a lot of money to say the things she's saying and it is bringing Canada into the debate, and the government doesn't like it, so they are going after her.

Can't say I like it much, but since its a provincial government going after her, the federal government has some deniability, not a bad move by Harper politicly in Canada.

Personally I think their health care needs alot of work.

[ican'tbelieveit]

I work with two and they think that Canadian health care works well for Canadians. One at least recognizes that our lack of control over our government, and even lack of caring about how our government functions and spends money, will make it impossible for the same system here.

In other words, when a Canadian pays taxes, they get something out of it. But, as MANY American, I pay into medicaid, and I don’t get anything back out of it.

They do not address major health concerns, such as what this woman has. They are addressing day to day, routine medical attention.

[pissant]

Obama is. This gov’t run insurance scam is just the foot in the door.

[Darren McCarty]

I know many Canadians of different political stripes (R, D, in between).

NONE of them like the Health Care system there.

[navyblue]

Wasn't it Zeke Emmanuel who has that philosophy about not wasting medical care on 65 year olds or was that said by another of Obama’s bueaaurats? The misspell was intentional. I haven't seen anyone else make a comment about that age 65 thing. Isn't that the age when people usually retire and start drawing social security? My, my! Just think of all that money that will be saved. The Social security/demographics has been solved. Who says Obama isn't smart?

[A.Hun]

Comments have been disabled

Editor's Note: We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons. We appreciate your understanding.

That's interesting...

[Gay State Conservative]

A few years back,while in Florida,I saw a Toronto paper on a newsstand (lots of Canadians winter in Florida) that had a headline that read something like “200 Ontario Cancer Patients To Be Sent To US For Treatment”.The reason,the story stated,was that otherwise these patients would have to wait months for their treatment to begin.I think it said that these were newly diagnosed cancer patients.

[bfree]

She’s not lying about the system.

[ml/nj]

Are they also going to "file a defence" against those seven or so Canadians (all that were present) who expressed displeasure with their system when faced with an impromptu question put to them by NY Times Krugman "reporter"? (Watch the video if you haven't seen it. It's funny!)

ML/NJ